Walk up to a gay sauna in Milan or a cruising club in Rome and the first thing the desk asks for is often not the entry fee but a membership card. Visitors tend to read this as a house rule of that one venue. It is not. Many of Italy's gay venues are run as private associations, and an association serves its members. This guide explains why, which three cards you are likely to meet, and how to get each one as a visitor.
Why you are asked to join
Italian law treats an association differently from a business. Under article 148 of the Italian income tax code (TUIR), what an association does for its own members, in line with its statutory aims, does not count as commercial activity, and membership fees are not counted as income. A separate regulation, Presidential Decree no. 235 of 2001, sets out how associations and private clubs may serve food and drink to their members at their own premises.
Both rules come with conditions on the membership itself. The association's statute has to make membership real and expressly rule out temporary participation, and adult members get a vote on the statute and on the board. So at the desk you show ID, sign a form and become a member of an association with voting rights, even if you are only in town for a weekend. ARCO puts it plainly: its activities and services are reserved for members.
ARCO: the card for saunas and cruising clubs
ARCO, the Associazione Ricreativa Circoli Omosessuali, is the national network many Italian gay saunas, cruising bars and men's clubs belong to. It is based in Bologna. It was founded in 2012 as ANDDOS and took its present name at its congress in May 2018. Older guides and some venues still use the old name. It is the same association.
What ARCO itself states about its cards:
- You join in person only, at an affiliated club, with a valid ID. There is no online membership.
- The fee is set by each club, so the price differs from door to door. Cactus in Naples, for example, charges 17 euros a year for AllClubs and 10 euros for OneClub.
- A card runs for 365 days from the day it is issued or renewed. The Travel card runs for 90 days.
- The card is personal. Lending it, or using someone else's, may be a criminal offence.
ARCO offers five types of card. AllClubs opens every ARCO club in Italy. Young is the same for members under 27. Travel is the same for 90 days and is reserved for non-Italian citizens. OneClub works only at the club that issued it. Element works at a selection of clubs. Not every club issues every type, so ask at the desk which ones it offers. ARCO's own One Pass app holds a digital copy of the card and lists the affiliated clubs.
On gaycation.eu, Royal Hammam in Milan, Apollion in Rome, Steam Sauna in Bologna, Metrò Venezia and Maxximum Time in Palermo are all on ARCO's list of clubs.
Arcigay: the national LGBTQIA+ association
Arcigay is Italy's national LGBTQIA+ rights association, with 74 local branches. Its own history starts with the first ARCI Gay club, opened in Palermo on 9 December 1980. In March 1985 it became a national organisation with its seat in Bologna. Around the turn of the millennium it also ran a network of more than 50 recreational clubs, discos, bars and saunas among them, which is why you may still read that a sauna needs an Arcigay card. Arcigay's national discounts today list insurers and hotel chains, not saunas.
What Arcigay states about its card:
- You can join online or at one of its 74 local branches. You need an ID.
- The minimum fee is 10 euros a year. A local branch may set a higher one.
- The card runs for 365 days from the day it is issued and does not renew by itself.
- The local board may turn an application down within 30 days.
- Members take part in the association's events and services, get a set of national discounts, and can enter ARCI clubs unless a club's own statute says otherwise.
You need the Arcigay card where Arcigay runs the venue itself. FreeID, the queer social bar opened by Antinoo Arcigay Napoli, requires it. An Arcigay card is not an ARCO card, and an ARCO club will ask for its own.
ARCI: Italy's general cultural clubs
ARCI was founded in Florence in 1957 to protect and develop the country's people's houses and recreational clubs. It is not an LGBTQIA+ association. Its network counts more than 4,000 clubs and over a million members, and some of these clubs host queer nights. The membership year starts on 1 October, and the ARCI app lets you join online. As noted above, an Arcigay card also opens ARCI clubs unless a club's statute says otherwise.
Other cards
A few venues belong to none of the three. Adam Sauna in Rome asks for an ENTES card, the card of another national circuit, for 10 euros a year at the door with ID. Bunker in Palermo is affiliated to the Freedom Circuit. Some clubs accept more than one: One Way near Milan takes ARCO or ENTES cards. Where a venue's page on gaycation.eu says "Membership card required" without naming an association, it is one of these cases, and the description says which card.
Before you go
- Carry a passport or ID card. Without one you will not get a card at an ARCO club.
- One card does not open every door. An ARCO card, an Arcigay card and an ARCI card belong to three different associations.
- If you are not an Italian citizen and only visiting, ask an ARCO club for the 90 day Travel card.
- Expect the fee to vary. ARCO clubs set their own, and Arcigay branches may charge more than the 10 euro minimum.
- Keep the card. ARCO and Arcigay cards run for a year, so a second visit costs only the entry.
Where we know which card a venue asks for, its page says so. For the wider picture of LGBTQIA+ rights and travel in the country, see our Italy country page.
